Eric Rudolph, at left, wearing vest, is escorted from federal courthouse in Huntsville, Ala., following a court appearance in this March 29, 2005, file photo.

The Report Card issues grades A through F, and incompletes where necessary, to a variety of news items in this space. Got an idea that makes the grade? Send it to JBuchanan@CITIZEN-TIMES.com

A to Asheville city government for proposing a new pothole application for mobile devices that will allow residents to report potholes while they're on the go. A citizen with a smartphone can report a hole in the road using this app, set to be implemented in July, instead of the sometimes arduous process of calling the correct service number. This type of app has been successfully implemented in several locations across the country, including San Diego, where thousands of residents began using it almost immediately. This creative use of technology will make public works more efficient, help to keep our roads well-maintained and could prevent serious accidents. To give your opinion about what the app should be called, fill out an online survey at www.surveymonkey.com/s/8GVY37Y.

D is for disgust, which was Murphy Mayor Bill Hughes' reaction to word that serial bomber Eric Robert Rudolph is writing his autobiography. Rudolph was convicted of four bombings, including one at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and others at gay bars and abortion clinics in Birmingham, Ala. The bombings killed two people and injured more than 100. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences and under his plea bargain cannot benefit financially from the book. This behavior is reminiscent of O.J. Simpson's attempt to publish a book by titled "If I Did It," which mercifully failed. We share Hughes' disgust and second his comments when asked if he planned on buying a copy of Rudolph's tome: "Absolutely not. I lived through it."

F to the Saudi government for beheading Sri Lankan maid Rizana Nafeek last week. Nafeek, who was accused of murdering her employer's infant son, represents an unfortunate trend in Saudi Arabia of mistreating foreign women working in the country. Thousands of women come from countries like India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia attracted by the jobs available as maids and nannies for wealthy Saudi families. Once there, these women have no resources to avoid abuse by their employers, and many are currently imprisoned for theft or murder on the word of the families they work for, who can ask for large sums of "blood money" to stop the trials of the accused. Once imprisoned, many are beaten and tried in Arabic without a translator. While government authorities claim that human rights organizations that condemn the death of Nafeek on the grounds that she was a minor when the alleged crime was committed are not in possession of all of the facts, this is mainly because the Saudi government is unwilling to make cases like these transparent. Saudi Arabia has done billions of dollars in arms trade with the United States since 2011 and is our tentative ally in attempts for peace in the Middle East, but the country is notorious for its restrictive treatment of Saudi women. It is clear that besides this, the Saudi government is institutionalizing devaluing, abusing and killing foreign female workers.

D is for Devil's Courthouse and what strikes us as a dumb idea, a plan to log 472 acres near the breathtaking landmark on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The U.S. Forest Service says the project is necessary for habitat improvement and forest health. We're not opposed to logging - and we respect the daunting tasks biologists in this area have in protecting forests beset by a host of invasive bugs, blights, pollution and encroaching development - but the choice of this site seems at best to indicate a public relations tin ear on the Forest Service's part. Josh Kelly, public lands field biologist with the WNC Alliance, put it best: "Professionally, my objection to logging this area is that it has been noted by many biologists, including state biologists, as the highest-quality forest - it has many rare species present. It doesn't make sense why, when the Forest Service is logging so little of its land base, to log timber of such high scenic, recreational and biological value." The public has until today to comment on the Courthouse Creek Project Environmental Assessment. Email comments on the Courthouse timber sale by today to Derek Ibarguen, Pisgah District Ranger, to comments-southern-north-carolina-pisgah-pisgah@fs.fed.us and put "Courthouse Project" in the subject line. Or mail to Appalachian Ranger District, Attn: Jason Herron, 632 Manor Road, Mars Hill, N.C. 28754; fax to 689-9762; or call Jason Herron, interdisciplinary team leader, at 689-9694, ext. 112.